Clash of Egos
by William Logan
Summary: Set after "The Stuff of Heroes," Gambit and Quicksilver contemplate their places in Magneto's Acolytes while Magneto prepares for his next move in the ongoing war against humanity


Due to popular demand, here is another Acolyte fic. I'll probably write a prequel to "The Acolytes" sometime this week, as well, if this one is well received.  
  
Disclaimer: X-Men: Evolution and all related names are the property of Marvel Entertainment, Inc.  
  
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"Clash of Egos"  
By William Logan  
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Magneto sat in silence, his Acolytes surrounding him as he watched the report. The X-Men had been cleared of charges after they had successfully prevented Juggernaut from wiping out a small town by destroying a nearby dam.  
  
"It seems I underestimated your students, Charles," Magneto spoke to the air. Quicksilver, the master of magnetism's son, sat to his left.  
  
"What's our next move, father?" he asked, speaking more slowly than usual. Colossus turned, waiting to hear what Lord Magneto had to say. Gambit continued watching the screen, hoping for another glimpse of the beautiful X-Man with the white streak in her hair... Rogue, that was her name, he thought to himself. Pyro sat on a console behind Magneto's chair, playing with a lighter. He manipulated the flame and created a small dragon, grinning as the creature came to life at his whim. Sabretooth stood in the shadows and watched, silently glaring at LeBeau, not trusting the young Cajun thief.  
  
"We will continue our plans to force the humans into recognizing us as the superior race of the planet," he turned to look his son in the eyes, and rested a hand on the boys shoulder, giving him a fatherly smile, "we are the future, that is something we must never forget. Their time here has passed."  
  
"Da, but what is your plan, Lord Magneto?" Colossus asked, running a hand through his slick, black hair.  
  
"That will be revealed to you in the fullness of time," Magneto replied, "for now, I ask that you simply continue serving me unquestioningly. I swear, I will lead you to victory soon enough." Colossus nodded.  
  
"An' what 'bout da X-Men?" Gambit asked, finally turning away from the screen, "it seems dey don't share jou opinions." Magneto's eyes grew cold as ice.  
  
"The X-Men will be dealt with like the traitors that they are. They seek to protect the pathetic humans from the future, from us. We will destroy them all." He stood, turning with a dramatic sweep of his purple cape, and went into his office to think. Quicksilver shot a look at Gambit.  
  
"Why are you so concerned about the X-Geeks?" In the blink of an eye, he was standing beside Gambit, staring him down, "you're after their little Rogue, aren't ya? Yeah, that's right, I saw the way you were looking at her, buddy. Ain't gonna happen, I know the girl. She'd never go for a loser like you."  
  
"Homme, jou better get outta m'face befo' jou regret it," Gambit pulled a card out of his pocket and charged it. It crackled with orange energy, threatening to explode.  
  
Pyro's attention was finally drawn away from his little fire dragon when he heard the raised voices. The small creature vanished into thin air, leaving behind a few wisps of smoke. "All right! We gonna get to see another scrap? This should be good!" He hopped down from the console he was sitting on and rushed to get a front row seat.  
  
"Remy, Pietro, there is no point in all this arguing," Colossus said. Sabretooth just grinned, baring his fangs. He had seen Quicksilver fight, and the kid was good, although a bit too cocky, maybe LeBeau would finally get what was coming to him.  
  
"Stay out of this, comrade," Quicksilver snapped, putting a great amount of sarcasm into the last word, "I haven't trusted this guy's shifty red eyes since I first saw him." He took a swing that connected with Gambit's jaw, then swiftly moved behind the former thief and shoved him forward, laughing as he crashed to the ground. The card Gambit had been holding slid from his grip and exploded just short of the chair that Pyro was sitting in.  
  
"Hey, watch it, mate!" the Australian shrieked. Colossus had had enough. His skin turned a shade of silver, gaining a metallic shine to it. The pupils of his eyes vanished as they were also transformed into organic steel. He moved towards Quicksilver and grabbed the white-haired boy by the wrist, squeezing a bit more tightly than necessary.  
  
"That is enough!" he hauled Pietro off the ground. The speedster delivered two quick kicks to Colossus's stomach, but that only got the Russian more irritated. "You may be Lord Magneto's son, but you certainly did not inherit any of his wisdom. The only way we are going to win this is if we cooperate with one another." Gambit flipped back onto his feet, wiping a small trickle of blood from the corner of his lip. The large, metallic Russian dropped Quicksilver to the ground. Pietro stood there for a moment, staring angrily at the man, rubbing at his wrist, wondering idly if it was broken.  
  
"Man, it was just starting to get good," Pyro huffed, pulling his lighter out again, this time creating a small tiger, then next to it placing a lion. He grinned as he watched the battle unfold, although he was fully in control and knew who would eventually win. Colossus just shook his head and sighed, leaning against a wall and transforming back into his normal form. Quicksilver took a few slow steps toward Gambit, still nursing his wrist.  
  
"This isn't over, Cajun," he snarled, finding a nice quiet spot to brood angrily. Gambit sat in a chair and sighed, shuffling away with his cards. Was he ever going to find somewhere that he was accepted? Not likely. These guys were his best hope, he thought, watching at Pyro's tiger mauled the fire lion, and then was promptly wiped out from existence. The Australian was in this mainly for the action, that was for sure. It was questionable if the guy even cared about how most humans felt about mutants. Colossus, on the other hand, fully believed in Magneto's mission, and had a fanatical devotion to the man. Quicksilver was seeking to prove himself to his father, and Sabretooth, Gambit couldn't quite figure out how he fit in the picture. The pair had had a few run ins on previous occasions, times that the Cajun would care to forget about. Finally, there was Gambit. He was here looking for acceptance, and it was something that he wasn't finding in the least.  
  
"Man, this is so boring," Pyro grumbled as he watched the news, "I don't wanna hear another thing about those X-Losers. I just want to go back and thrash them... especially that weather witch!" His eyes nearly glowed with fury as a shot of Ororo Munroe appeared on the screen.  
  
"I owe that little skunk-haired freak a sound beatin', too," Sabretooth growled, emerging from the shadows finally. Gambit ignored him, choosing to bury his feelings of attraction for the X-Man named Rogue.  
  
"And then we'll hunt down the Brotherhood!" Colossus said, "revenge will be in store for all of us when Lord Magneto is ready."  
  
Quicksilver frowned momentarily as he heard this. He still felt a small twinge of loyalty towards the Brotherhood, with the exception of his sister, Wanda. He eyed Gambit, watching as the Cajun started dealing out cards for himself, playing blackjack as near as Pietro could tell. For some reason, Quicksilver thought he wasn't quite trustworthy, perhaps it was his past as a thief, or maybe it was his apparent attraction to Rogue that worried the speed demon. Love had driven Lance to try to join the X-Men, could the same thing happen to Gambit? He could only wait and watch, in time he would know. For now, he would just try his best to keep his father happy.  
  
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FIN 


End file.
